posted by Travel Cat on Apr 22
Gap Years For Grown Ups! Planning: Part 2
Thanks for joining me again for the second part of this article with advice on things to consider when planning your gap vacation.
This time around, we are looking at how to make sure you can afford the trip in the first place - allowing you time to raise funds and organise your accounts!
Your Bills - Obviously, while you are away there will be things you have to pay for - boo!!
Even if you are not leaving a property, there are still running costs to bear in mind - for example, your life insurance, pensions, your car tax, your monthly bank charges and/or credit card payments, magazine subscriptions and membership payments.
If you have a property, there are many many more including mortgage installments, home insurance, fees for services, maintenance, storage fees, health policies, pet sitters & pet insurance and the list just goes on!
Get your previous 6 months or a years bank statements and start to make a list of everything you have paid. Find out which ones are annual, which are monthly , which are variable, and most importantly - those you do not actually need anymore! The number of people that have direct debits or subscriptions that they are not using - but sometimes still paying for! Filter these out immediately to make your life a lot easier in the future!
Ideally, you would make sure that you can access you bank account, credit cards and memberships online so that you can sort anything out while you are away. It also saves post being sent to your home when you arn’t there - a sure way of advertising the fact you are not home!
Also, check your last energy and water bills for estimates - and get the correct figures in - you may find you are in credit! However, finding out that you owe them money isn’t great now - but it would be better than finding out you owe then money just before you are planning to leave! Ouch - that could eat into your holiday fund!
With all the payments left that you will have to pay while you are away - how much are they going to cost you a month? You need to know this to have enough funds in your account to pay them when they are due. Find your monthly total and multiply that by the number of months you plan to be away, then add one more (just in case). How much is it? How will you find that money before you even pay for your holiday?
Could you put any of those on ‘hold’ while you travel? Can you defer any payments - or break them into installments without incurring a fee?
Your Income - Will you be receiving any income while you travel?
Some volunteering positions pay a small living allowance, some positions offer a local salary, others pay acceptable wages, and others pay you absolutely nothing! They usually all offer ‘free’ accommodation and meals in return for your efforts though, so once you have paid their ‘fee’ and your flights (although better positions may cover these for you) - there is nothing else owing.
So, if you have all your bills back home sorted, you can get on with enjoying yourself - any money is a bonus! However, if you still need funds to get by, then there are plenty of options.
If you need to earn money to send home, then you need to make sure that it will cover everything - but more importantly - how you are going to get it home or into your bank account! There are many ways to do this, but you need to find out the most cost effective way for the country you are in. Exchange fees can absorb a lot of your earnings, and exchanging smaller amounts will no doubt cost you more. And how will you keep you money safe abroad? Will you need a bank account of some sort or will you get paid into your home account?
If you have all the money you need at home before you leave - are you making the most of it? Rather than leave all the money in a standard bank account that you can access in your destination - why not put it into a high interest account or some bonds or shares that you can easily access - and transfer online (or have a relative do it for you).
In the UK, Premium bonds are among one account that can pay out well on a monthly basis, so why leave the bulk in there - earning money - then transfer your required amount across to your active account every month or as needed and make some extra income for yourself!!
And Finally:
Don’t worry if the costs seem very high or very confusing at first. There are thousands of people just like you who plan these types of vacations every week! You can find stories all over the Internet and travel magazines about the success stories and the experiences people have.
Don’t fall at the first hurdle - keep at it.
Plan well and it will all work out perfectly - but I can’t guarantee that the trip will go as planned - but then, that’s half the fun!
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